Apparatus for forming a foil envelope around a number of bodies assembled into a unit

ABSTRACT

A manner of forming a number of bodies into a parallelepipedic unit suitable for handling and transporting, and applies a wrapping to an assembled unit in a weldable foil, which by a movement of the unit in the horizontal plane is first wrapped around three sides of the unit, then welded along the fourth side thereof and finally welded along the fifth and sixth sides to form a closed cover, which possibly may be heat shrunk. The foil originally has a breadth greater than that of the unit, which means that during a preliminary step of the wrapping operation portions of the foil will protrude outside opposite sides of the unit, transversely to the direction of movement thereof. The top parts of these protruding portions must not prematurely fold down along the fifth and the sixth sides, respectively, of the unit because that would block the final steps of the wrapping operation. The aim of the invention is to design the means transporting the unit from one station to an other within the wrapping apparatus in such a manner that parts of the foil are supported, which will facilitate the introduction of expandible fork members required to spread the protruding parts of the foil and prepare same for the final welding operation.

United States Patent 1 Nordqvist 1! Nov. 6, 1973 1' APPARATUS FORFORMING A FOIL ENVELOPE AROUND A NUMBER OF BODIES ASSEMBLED INTO A UNIT[76] Inventor: Jack Nordqvist, Kastellegardsgatan 50 D, Kungalv, Sweden[22] Filed: Dec. 1, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 203,549

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data 3,643,396 2/1972 'Togashi et a].53/182 Primary Examiner- -Travis S. McGehee Attorney-Holman & Stern [57]ABSTRACT A manner of forming a number of bodies into a parallelepipedicunit suitable for handling and transporting, and applies a wrapping toan assembled unit in a weldable foil, which by a movement of the unit inthe horizontal plane is first wrapped around three sides of the unit,then welded along the fourth side thereof and finally welded along thefifth and sixth sides to form a closed cover, which possibly may be heatshrunk. The foil originally has a breadth greater than that of the unit,which means that during a preliminary step of the wrapping operationportions of the foil will protrude outside opposite sides of the unit,transversely to the direction of movement thereof. The top parts ofthese protruding portions must not prematurely fold down along the fifthand the sixth sides, respectively, of the unit because that would blockthe final steps of the wrapping operation. The aim of the invention isto design the means transporting the unit from one station to an otherwithin the wrapping apparatus in such a manner that parts of the foilare supported, which will facilitate the introduction of expandible forkmembers required to spread the protruding parts of the foil and preparesame for the final welding operation.

4 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures Patented Nov. 6, 1973 4 Sheets-Sheet lPatented Nov. 6, 1973 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG..?

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The enclosing a number of bodies, assembledinto a unit of substantial parallelepipedic shape, in an envelope ofweldable plastics foil may in a convenient manner be performed in anapparatus comprising two platforms arranged in the same horizontalplane, means for supporting the foil vertically between the twoplatforms, the foil primarily having "a greater breadth than that of theunit, means for transferring the unit assembled upon the first platformonto the second platform in such a manner that the foil will be wrappedaround three sides of the unit being perpendicular to the direction ofmovement, first welding means to bring the foil to contact the fourthside of the unit and to weld the ends of the foil together, secondwelding means to work along the fifth and the sixth sides respectively,of the unit to close the ends of the coverprotruding therefrom, and anexpandible fork member mounted at the second platform being designed,prior to the last welding steps, to be introduced into each of theprotruding portions of the cover to stretch said portions to narrowslots suited for closure by welding.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The aim of the invention is to design theapparatus in such a manner that the protruding portions of the foilcover will be supported during an intermediate step of the procedure tofacilitate the introduction of the fork members. The invention ischaracterized in that the transferring means includes an open, threesided frame member turned with its open end in the direction of movementand having arms parallel thereto, said arms beingdesigned to carry partof the protruding portions of the foil when the partly wrapped unit hasbeen transferred to the second platform, that a pressure plate mountedabove the second platform, having'substantially the same dimensions asthe unit, is displaceable towards and away from the second platform totemporarily exert a pressure upon the unit, when the same has beentransferred to the second platform, that the expandible fork membersaredesigned to be moved to working position while the frame member isstill enclosing theunit upon the second platform, and that the arms ofthe frame member are formed to permit retraction from the secondplatform while the fork members remain in working position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS .lV--IV of FIG. 3;.

FIGS. 5 is similar to FIGS. 1 and 3 showing the apparatus during thestep where the cover is welded together,

FIG. 6 is a horizontal section on the plane of line V'I Vlof FIG. 5; 1

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a'corner of the unit during a followingstep of the operation; and

t 2 FIG. 8 shows a vertical section taken on the second platform.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The apparatus shown in thedrawings includes two platforms l0 and 11, respectively, which arearranged at the same level and separated by a small clearance throughwhich a sheet 12 of plastics foil extends and is wound upon two storagerolls, l3 and 14 respectively. The platforms may form parts of conveyorstransporting the bodies to the apparatus and the wrapped units awaytherefrom, respectively.

The first platform 10 has a size suited to receive the required numberof bodies and to form a unit thereon. On the present occasion the unit.is intended to consist of rolls of toilet paper, the unit having a basesurface defined by 4 X 5 rolls, and with an arbitrary number of suchrolls on top of each other. The rolls are placed on the first platformand are formed to a transport unit by means of a frame consisting of abase member 15 and two arms 16 and 17 mounted thereon. These arms aremovable towards and away from each other with respect to the baseportion 15 by means of pressure fluid operated rams 18, mounted on thebase portion and provided with control means not shown here. A wallmember 19 is arranged at the end of the first platform, adjacent to thesecondplatform and is movable in a vertical plane in such a manner thatit, whenbrought down onto the platform, will form a fourth side definingthe unit. The frame is displacable in the horizontal plane, parallel tothe platforms and as a first step in the operation the base portion ispushed in the direction of the wall member 19, while simultaneously thearms 16 and 17 are moved towards each other. Hereby the-rolls arearranged to form a compact, basically parallelepipedic unit 20, which isto be enclosed in the plastics foil 12. The force exerted on theindividual bodies during these arranging movements must of course not beso high that the bodies will be deformed. The stroke of the parts of theframe, as well'as theforce exerted therebymay be varied in suitablemanner.

The frame is displacable further in the horizontal plane, sufficient tobring the formedunit 20, after removal of wall member 19, onto thesecond platform 11. During this displacement the unit will pull along aportion of the plastics foil 12 in such a manner that this portion atfirst will enclose the, unit 20 along three sides thereof. A pressureplate 2l'is mounted above the second platform 11, and is by means ofpressure fluid rams 22, controlled in any suitable manner, displacabletowards and away from the unit. The size of the pressure platesubstantially corresponds to that of the unit, and when it is-forceddownwards it will bring along the sheet of foil to stretch it over thetop of the unit.

The pressure plate 21 will retain the bodies within the unit withrespect to the second platform 11, to permit the frame 15,16,17 to bewithdrawn to the first platform 10, in order that a package can beformed as follows: as is shown in FIG. 5, two welding electrodes 23,

displacable towards and away from each other, are ar ranged between thesheet of plastics foil. 12 and the unit 20, when transferred to thesecond platform 11. These electrodes are designed in such a mannerthatthey will bring the foil downwards along the fourth side of the unit,facing towards platform 10, and to unite the meeting edges of the foiland complete a tubular cover open at its sides. The welding electrodeswill sever the cover thus obtained from the sheet of foil, and willsimultaneously weld together the adjacent ends of the foil extendingfrom the rolls in such a manner that an unbroken sheet, having atransverse joint 30 shown in FIG. 1, will be formed, ready to recievethe following unit.

The foil originally has a breadth or width which is greater than that ofthe desired unit, preferably about twice the thickness of the unit, andthe cover now obtained will thus have open end portions protruding fromopposite sides of the unit. With respect to the following operations itis important, that the upper parts of these protruding portions do notinadvertidly fold down along the fifth and sixth sides of the unit.

FIG. 2 shows how fork members 24, each provided with two arms 25,movable towards and away from each other, are mounted adjacent to thesecond platform 11 in a position not to prevent a displacement of theunit from the first to the second platform. These fork members are, inthe manner shown in FIG. 4, brought into the protruding end portions ofthe cover during the step shown in FIG. 3. Each arm 16, 17 of the frameincludes a U-beam, which is turned with the open side away from theunit. The flanges of the U- beam will keep the portions of theprotruding end parts separate, whereby the arms of the fork members maybe freely moved towards the unit. When thus the pressure plate 21 hasbeen forced against the unit and retains the same against the secondplatform, the fork members 24 may be brought to an operating position,and the frame arms l6, 17 can be withdrawn without any hindrance fromthe fork members. The free ends of the arms 16, 17 are provided withendportions 16a and 17a, respectively, designed to prevent the ends ofthe arms from cutting through the foil 12. In order to permit the forkmember 24, 25 at platform 11 to pass through the end portion 16a, 17athe latter are provided with slots 16b and 17b, respectively.

The welding along the fourth side of the unit can be performed in onestep after the retraction of the frame members l6, 17 or in two or moresteps, for instance primarily'between the arms of the frame member andat the corners of the sheet to leave openings permitting the retractionof the arms.

When thereafter the arms 25 of the fork members 24 are moved apart theend portions of the cover will be stretched to'be broader that the unit,whereby the opening of the protruding portion will be formed to a narrowslot 26 in the manner best shown in FIG. 7, while simultaneously thematerial in these portions is brought in close to the sides of the unit.The slots may thereupon be closed by means of two further weldingelectrodes 27 at each side of the unit, said electrodes being movabletowards and away from each other in a vertical plane and forced againstthe sides of the cover and towards each side of the unit parallel to thedirection of displacement whereby the cover will envelop the unit alongall sides thereof. The welding seams along the fifth and the sixth sideof the unit are preferably located at the same level as the welding seamalong the fourth side, i.e. about midway of the heigth of the unit.Together with the seam 30 connecting the severed ends of the foil areinforcing band will be formed around the unit. The triangular portions28, which hereby are obtained at each corner may, either manually or byfurther mechanical means, not shown on the drawing, be folded inwardsagainst one adjacent side of the unit and be bonded or welded thereto.

The size of the components, as well the shape of the arms of the frameand of theforks will have to be chosen with consideration to the bodiesto be handled and to the size of the unit desired. The arrangement shownand described thus is one example only of the invention the details ofwhich may be modified in many ways within the frame of the accompanyingclaims. The foil envelope may advantagously be heat shrunk when thewelding operations have been concluded.

I claim:

1. An apparatus for enclosing a number of bodies, assembled into a unitof substantially parallel-epipedic shape, into an envelope of weldablefoil comprising,

first and second platforms arranged in substantially the same horizontalplane and means for supporting a sheet of foil vertically between thetwo platforms, the foil primarily having a breadth bigger than that ofthe unit,

means including an open, three sided frame member turned with its openside in the direction of movement and having arms parallel thereto fortransferring a unit assembled upon the first platform onto the secondplatform in such a manner that the foil will be wrapped around threesides of the unit being perpendicular to the direction of movement, saidarms being provided with at least one outwardly directed flange designedto carry part of the protruding portions of the foil when the partlywrapped unit has been transferred to the second platform,

a pressure plate of substantially the same dimension as the unit mountedabove the second platform and cooperating with means to move the platetowards and away from the second platform to temporarily exert asufficient pressure uponthe unit to retain it upon the second platform,

first welding means to tighten the foil along a fourth side of the unitand to weld the ends of the foil together,

second welding means to work along the fifth and the sixth sides'of theunit, respectively, to close the ends of the cover protruding therefrom,and

two expandible fork members mounted at opposite sides of the secondplatform and designed to be introduced into the protruding portions ofthe foil while the frame member is still enclosing the unit upon thesecond platform and before the first welding operation along the fourthside of the unit is terminated, the arms of the frame member beingdesigned to permit retraction from the second platform, while the forkmembers remain in working position to thereafter stretch the protrudingportions of the foil to narrow slots suited for closure by welding.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, in which the arms of the framemember is each formed as a beam having a basically U-shaped crosssection and being turned with its open side away from the unit, thecooperating fork member being designed to operate between the legs ofthe U, when brought to working position.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2 in which each U-shaped beam, inorder to prevent damage to the foil during the movement of the framemember towards the second platform, at its free end, is provided with anend plate having a' slot for permitting the passage of a form member.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1 in which the arms of the framemember include means for moving them in direction towards and away fromeach other in order to permit compression of the unit to be enclosed inthe foil.

1. An apparatus for enclosing a number of bodies, assembled into a unitof substantially parallel-epipedic shape, into an envelope of weldablefoil comprising, first and second platforms arranged in substantiallythe same horizontal plane and means for supporting a sheet of foilvertically between the two platforms, the foil primarily having abreadth bigger than that of the unit, means including an open, threesided frame member turned with its open side in the direction ofmovement and having arms parallel thereto for transferring a unitassembled upon the first platform onto the second platform in such amanner that the foil will be wrapped around three sides of the unitbeing perpendicular to the direction of movement, said arms beingprovided with at least one outwardly directed flange designed to carrypart of the protruding portions of the foil when the partly wrapped unithas been transferred to the second platform, a pressure plate ofsubstantially the same dimension as the unit mounted above the secondplatform and cooperating with means to move the plate towards and awayfrom the second platform to temporarily exert a sufficient pressure uponthe unit to retain it upon the second platform, first welding means totighten the foil along a fourth side of the unit and to weld the ends ofthe foil together, second welding means to work along the fifth and thesixth sides of the unit, respectively, to close the ends of the coverprotruding therefrom, and two expandible fork members mounted atopposite sides of the second platform and designed to be introduced intothe protruding portions of the foil while the frame member is stillenclosing the unit upon the second platform and before the first weldingoperation along the fourth side of the unit is terminated, the arms ofthe frame member being designed to permit retraction from the secondplatform, while the fork members remain in working position tothereafter stretch the protruding portions of the foil to narrow slotssuited for closure by welding.
 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, inwhich the arms of the frame member is each formed as a beam having abasically U-shaped cross section and being turned with its open sideaway from the unit, the cooperating fork member being designed tooperate between the legs of the U, when brought to working position. 3.The apparatus according to claim 2 in which each U-shaped beam, in orderto prevent damage to the foil during the movement of the frame membertowards the second platform, at its free end, is provided with an endplate having a slot for permitting the passage of a form member.
 4. Theapparatus according to claim 1 in which the arms of the frame memberinclude means for moving them in direction towards and away from eachother in order to permit compression of the unit to be enclosed in thefoil.